Unlawful occupation of Glendower Residence by group of individuals

Dear colleagues and students

It has come to the attention of the executive that a group of approximately 60 individuals gained unauthorised entry to Glendower Residence on the evening of Tuesday, 4 March 2025. The group, including SRC members and students, forcibly attained keys from the sub-warden on duty that evening and took unlawful occupation of 30 vacant rooms. This unlawful behaviour is completely unacceptable and immediate action was required.

It is important to clarify that Glendower Residence has been subject to an extensive renovation process and, as such, has been partially decommissioned as a student housing facility. Of its 136 beds, the City of Cape Town has granted a temporary permit to UCT for the use of 65 beds until the next phase of the renovation work has been completed. Given that it is a first-tier residence, the 65 available rooms were therefore prioritised for first-year students currently placed in other residences. This would have resulted in places opening up in those residences for returning students for whom the recent Council-approved fee debt relief measures were put in place.

• Read the Chair's Desk: Council approves joint proposal on 2024 fee debt.

As a reminder, historic fee debt at UCT currently stands at R864 million. The reality is that while many students are financially vulnerable, there are those who have made no payment towards their fees and thus have accumulated significant debt.

Student Housing at UCT is governed by specific rules and protocols, which include rules on conduct and duration of stay. All new and returning students who meet the requirements need to apply in advance for student housing space. Some of the individuals in this group have not done so.

As of Friday afternoon, some in the group that unlawfully occupied Glendower Residence had not vacated the residence. Despite our best efforts to engage these individuals, they have denied access to Campus Protection Services (CPS) officers and UCT officials. As the university leadership, we deem this action to be disruptive and unlawful.

At a special Rapid Response Task Team (RRTT) meeting held with the Students' Representative Council (SRC) on Wednesday, 5 March, the executive expressed to the SRC that all individuals who continue to unlawfully occupy Glendower Residence had until midnight of that day to vacate the premises. Furthermore, the SRC were advised of the following steps that would be taken should these individuals fail to vacate the residence:

• CPS officers were to inform the unlawful occupants that they were required to immediately vacate the premises. This took place on the evening of Thursday, 6 March.
• A formal removal process will apply to all individuals who remain in unlawful occupation.
• The vice-chancellor will initiate engagement with the parents and guardians of those who continue to unlawfully occupy Glendower Residence.
• The consequences for illegal activity (forced entry and illegal occupation) will include a formal investigation, which may lead to disciplinary action being taken and the imposition of appropriate sanctions, as provided for in the UCT Rules.
• The consequences for those who are proven to have aided and abetted unlawful occupation of UCT spaces will follow a similar path. In the first instance, a formal investigation will ensue, followed by disciplinary action being taken and appropriate sanctions.

A formal removal process will now commence. A case has been lodged with Mowbray SAPS to assist UCT in the removal of the unlawful occupants, in order to make rooms available for students waiting to take up residence.

At this stage, we are 20% into the first semester. As the executive, we have engaged with the SRC on several occasions via the RRTT as well as at executive meetings. We were hopeful that we could work collaboratively to find common ground in addressing the plight of financially vulnerable students.

• Throughout January, we engaged with students who had occupied vacation accommodation beyond the date by which they were scheduled to vacate.
• We provided meals throughout this period, offered travel assistance and made interim accommodation arrangements for those who qualified.
• In February, we continued engagement with individuals who had occupied the SRC offices.
• We worked with the SRC to develop a joint resolution that was tabled and approved at Council in February.

The UCT Fees Office has implemented the joint proposal approved by Council for qualifying students to enable registration and the allocation of housing. This process has been expedited to ensure the rapid integration of impacted students into the 2025 academic schedule. Measures include allocating students to affordable housing so that their overall debt is minimised. Our interventions in 2025 assisted at least 2 516 UCT students. We have achieved this while being mindful of our responsibility to ensure the financial sustainability of our institution.

However, we will no longer tolerate unreasonable actions, disruptive and unlawful behaviour by a few who are intent on comprising the wellbeing of the majority. Threats and intimidation have no place in our university, and we will not compromise the safety of our students and staff, nor will we allow the academic project to be impacted.

As stated in the previous communication, in securing the R30 million in debt relief funding, the executive had to provide Council with assurances that we will take action in cases where protest goes beyond the bounds of what is peaceful and lawful and in violation of the student code of conduct (Handbook 3, 2025) and the interdict granted by the Western Cape High Court in May 2023.

Further developments in this regard will be communicated as necessary. I thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.

Yours sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor

Read previous communications:

• From the UCT Executive
• Campus Announcements